Here are the photos and videos from the SSLYBY/Ohtis show on Monday. Enjoy! Ohtis SSLYBY [...]
So here we are. Several hours later, but I'm finally able to sit down, don my headphones and devote some quality time to listening to this new Doves track for the first time. I'd almost forgotten how good this band sounds through a nice set of cans. For the past few months I've been using my iPod ear buds for convenience sake, but right now I'm wearing my over-ear headphones turned up loud, with the rich bass tones, crystal highs and everything in between. It feels right to listen to Doves like this. I've got [...]
Pardon the giddy, childlike excitement, but Doves sent out an email this morning with a HUGE bit of news, tracklist for their album due out April 6th, some tour dates AND A NEW FUCKING SONG! I'll have some impressions of the song shortly, I think after 3 and half years, I want to give it a one listen review, and then follow up in a few weeks. Here is the news post in full, to get the new track, head over to doves.net and join the mailing list. [...]
As some of you may have seen on my Twitter feed, this concert started out decidedly bad, through no fault of the bands involved. You see, my friends and I showed up just before 9PM Monday evening (this after coming by just before 8PM and finding out that the show was actually supposed to start at 9, a simple, yet important detail which no one employed at the Coffeehouse seemed to be aware of) and we quickly took a seat mere feet away from the stage at the rear of the shop. We sat, we drank Diet Cokes, [...]
While not necessarily music related, I've finally plunged into the shallow, 140 characters deep waters of Twitter. I might start doing some short form music reviews there, so you should all check it out. http://twitter.com/thabombshel ter -Harry
Great news if you're in the Central Illinois area. Tonight you can enjoy the gleeful exuberance of indie excellence in the form of Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin at the aptly named Coffeehouse in Normal, IL. They're playing out with local boys Ohtis and the show will apparently start at 8PM. According to Ohtis' MySpace page , tickets will be 5 bucks at the door, which is a steal. I spend a fair amount of my time on Fridays working from The Coffeehouse, so I can personally vouch for it's awesomeness as an intimate [...]
I received an email from Lanterns on the Lake a few weeks ago in which they sent me their lovely four song EP, "The Starlight EP". It's been on my workday playlist, shuffling in and out of the rotation. It's always been quiet and beautiful, gentle and ethereal. They cite Sigur Ros, Explosions in the Sky, Godspeed and several other ambient, spacey bands that we love here at ThaBombShelter, so it would stand to reason that I would enjoy this set of songs. This morning, as I was toiling away on my other computer, I was [...]
GREAT news for your Tuesday Morning. I just received the following email from Doves, and the new album is ON THE WAY! I can't help but giggle with giddy anticipation. And they're planning a tour of the US. You KNOW I'll be seeing Doves this year. Hello Just wanted to start by letting you all know we've finally finished our new album & after a week of compiling the track order & other details I can confirm we're all made up with it, we reckon its [...]
This lady fronted band has an interesting take on the Bowie classic. With an icy, dark, echoing electronica vibe, the song slinks around in the shadows. Enjoy. "Lady Stardust" Masonic and the originals "Lady Stardust" David Bowie "Lady Stardust (Demo)" David Bowie Official MySpace Buy
Equal parts Beach Boys, Kinks and early Beatles, this band showed up as a welcome surprise in my inbox the other day. Rather than being some kind of obscure, British 60's Psych-Pop trio that I managed to miss all these years, The Rollo Treadway has been around since just 2006 and hail from NYC. Give any of the songs from their self-titled debut one listen though, and you'll see why they gave me pause. I want to do a Track Seven One Listen Review (tm) of this album, so let's see what deliciousness Track Seven brings [...]
Hey kids, just a quick update for all of you hip to the F-Book. ThaBombShelter now has a page that you can all become fans of. Now, we both know you love ThaBombShelter, otherwise why would you be here (don't answer that question...), but now you can share your love of ThaBombShelter with all the passing acquaintances, co-workers, family friends and every single one of the kids you never talked to in High School. Show them what a tastemaker you are by staying ahead of the curve and starting the cascade of "Timmy also became of ThaBombShelter" [...]
How about 100 words on this song? There's snow on the ground and I still haven't had any coffee. And lets not forget the extraordinarily heart crushing loss to Texas last night... This has been background music for several weeks, but this is the song that always grabs my attention. The chorus is a fantastic rise and call with a catchy riff hanging around in the background. There's an ethereal piano/guitar line slip sliding around and the almost-falsetto vocals hit just right. The song wanders around, sauntering and meandering, walking without much purpose, and [...]
Welcome to the newly redesigned ThaBombShelter, all fresh and clean for the new year. If any of you read my attempt at NaNoWriMo (Pat), you'll recognize the design from that blog. I really liked the cleanliness and simplicity of the black and white, so there you have it. Anyway, let's get on with our first review of the year. I bring you, Jukebox the Ghost. I discovered this band very late in the year, after I had already posted my best albums, which is a shame, because the more I listen to "Live and [...]
As we wind down this wonderful year, I'd love to share some Exclusive ThaBombShelter content with you all. Starting back in January of last year (it was the Black Swans/Megan Palmer concert at Andyman's), I finally perfected the art of extracting live tracks from the YouTube videos I was uploading. So here, in addition to the best live photos from the year, is a collection of the best live tracks I've gotten this year. I didn't bother ranking them, because, really, these are all unique and all special. Enjoy! First up, The Best Photos [...]
Here we are again, this time with a list of the fifteen best songs released in 2008. Enjoy! #1- "Freeze and Explode" Cassettes Won't Listen I discovered this band via Subterranean a few months ago. I immediately downloaded the EP and have been in love ever since. This song is like an icier Postal Service, and given the dormant status of that band, this is an incredible substitute. So good, so beautiful. [...]
I just wanted to let everyone know that since I originally posted my Top Eleven Albums of Two Thousand Eight I have altered the order slightly. Originally I had Anathallo's "Canopy Glow" ranked at number three, but over the weekend, I decided that the number three spot belonged to Builders and the Butchers. I've edited the list accordingly, and I feel a lot better about the order now. That is all. -Harry
After several weeks and too many days on hiatus, I'm finally ready to unveil ThaBombShelter's Top Eleven Albums of Two Thousand Eight. And it's fitting that this marks my 500th Post here at ThaBombShelter. So, huzzah for that! Now then, on with the show! #1- "Places" Canoe This is an album that hooked me immediately. I put it on in September and instantly fell in love. From track one to track seventeen, I just couldn't stop listening to it. [...]
Well, we're back. If you've been following along with my progress on NaNoWriMo , you're probably already aware that I was unable to finish again this year. I made it to approximately 35,000 words, which I think is pretty damn amazing. The actual file on my hard drive is 75 pages of single-spaced text, which is impressive. I was going quite strong and rounding the bend of 25,000 words when I received sad news. On Wednesday November 19th, my step-mom Ann passed away. To say that single event threw a wrench into the [...]
As anyone who knows me, or really anyone who even reads this blog regularly knows, I'm not really one to talk about politics. I don't follow it closely enough to feel confident in arguing with anyone who knows more than I do. I don't read DailyKos, and the Huffington Post isn't in my Google Reader. I do, however, value my right to cast my ballot every four years (and in the interim elections, of course), and I value my right to choose our next president. I know the internet has been saturated with countless posts about [...]
Last night I was finally able to make my way to the Black Box theater to see Central Illinois' own Chicago Farmer. His real name is Cody Diekhoff, and he is a man with an incredible talent for sincere, funny, raucous, warm, intimate, mellow folk music. He plays the guitar with the skill and speed of an accomplished banjo picker, but he strums and coos like the true folk guitarist that he is. It was autumnal and cozy, familiar, new, and perfect. The venue contributed to a good portion of the sentiment I felt last [...]
ThaBombShelter
Sleigh Bells - Demons (Official Music Video)
The Rains of Castamere by The National
A-Trak & Dillon Francis - "Money Makin'" (Official Video)
DIIV "How Long Have You Known?" (OFFICIAL VIDEO)
Nas - Daughters
Bison - Quill
Neutral Milk Hotel- Aeroplane Over the Sea
Shinichi Osawa – Big Beach Mix 2012
Mr Fogg - Eleven
